Diet Help Please

[Earl-Hickey]

I am trying to lose 20-30lb in 12 weeks while maintaining or building muscle.

My diet plan sucks, but is somewhat effective as the first week I dropped 6lb and about 1" off my waist.

My workout is sorted, but here's the crummy diet that needs help

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Breakfast, Protein Shake + half Bannana

Mid Morning Snack, Protein Shake + some Beef Jerky

Lunch, Subway 6" Roasted Chicken, no cheese, no sauce, wheat bread, salad

Afternoon snack, Protein Bar + some beef Jerky

Dinner, Grilled Chicken Breast, Cup of frozen veg

Night snack, Protein Shake

4 ltr water per day.

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The Beef Jerkey is neglagable calories, but quite high in protein, I have virtually no fat in my diet, but as this is an extreme cut that's kind of a must, i need to SHED the fat for my holiday.

Any tips will be greatfully appreciated.

[Fury]

You will get the ****s if you rush straight into new diet.

[dan_cov]

Fat don't make you fat, excess calories do.

Certain fats can actually help burn fat!

You're going to have to count the calories, I mean there is nothing wrong with protein shakes, beef jerky & such but just how much are you having? If its more convenient for you, whey protein/protein shakes are fine.

Personally I'd keep the carbs low and taper off by the evening. Plenty of healthy fats omega 3,6,9 and high protein.

You are eating the right foods but how much of it you're eating is anybodies guess. As long as you're in a calorie deficit you'll lose weight but 2-3lbs per week maybe a tad optimistic.

The 6lbs lost in the first week will be mainly/all water weight.

[Earl-Hickey]

Fat don't make you fat, excess calories do.

Certain fats can actually help burn fat!

You're going to have to count the calories, I mean there is nothing wrong with protein shakes, beef jerky & such but just how much are you having? If its more convenient for you, whey protein/protein shakes are fine.

Personally I'd keep the carbs low and taper off by the evening. Plenty of healthy fats omega 3,6,9 and high protein.

You are eating the right foods but how much of it you're eating is anybodies guess. As long as you're in a calorie deficit you'll lose weight but 2-3lbs per week maybe a tad optimistic.

The 6lbs lost in the first week will be mainly/all water weight.

Beef Jerkey, i'm having like a small handfull, maybe 25gm

The shakes are just a scoop of Whey in soy milk

Any ideas for the healthy fats? like nuts and such?

[dan_cov]

Beef Jerkey, i'm having like a small handfull, maybe 25gm

The shakes are just a scoop of Whey in soy milk

Any ideas for the healthy fats? like nuts and such?

I'm not sure about soy milk but I believe its very low in vitamins and can raise estrogen levels in men though I could be wrong and have to research it.

Yeah nuts are great! Avocados, oily fish (sardines, tuna, mackeral etc), eggs are all healthy foods high in healthy fat.
Peanut butter if you like that though keep a close eye on how much you have as its very high in calories.

[ShoulderRoll]

Maybe try the Slow Carb diet. You eat 3 meals a day and each meal consists of protein, vegetables, and legumes. One day a week you can eat whatever you want.

The claim is that you should be able to lose 20 pounds of bodyfat in a month.

Here are some example meals:


Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables



Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)



Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

[dan_cov]

Maybe try the Slow Carb diet. You eat 3 meals a day and each meal consists of protein, vegetables, and legumes. One day a week you can eat whatever you want.

The claim is that you should be able to lose 20 pounds of bodyfat in a month.

Here are some example meals:


Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables



Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)



Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

Whilst the meals look ideal for weight loss there is noway you're losing/burning 20lbs of fat in 1 month. That is 5lbs of fat per week and even if you could that would not be healthy and may even lead to hospitalisation.

You would be risking Thyroid issues, fatigue, diarrhea, malnutrition among other things.
It would likely leave you with a lot of hanging skin too.

I think a realistic, healthy aim would be 2lbs per week though I'd expect a good few lbs more to drop in the first two weeks due to water.

[ShoulderRoll]

Tim Ferris, author of the 4 Hour Work Week, is the one who made the claim. I don't vouch for the validity of it but just passing it along as is.

[Redd Foxx]

Your diet won't make nearly as much difference as your dedication to a fat-burning workout program. So, don't kill yourself on the diet, kill yourself in the gym.
I'd avoid going so protein-heavy. You'll shed more water at first but it doesn't make as much long-term progress. The body seeks balance. Don't neglect fiber. Get more vegetables in there (on paper they seem useless, but your system really benefits from them). Don't do things that may frustrate you (frequent shakes instead of food, etc) because frustration is the #1 reason diets fail, people get sick of them.
Keep in mind, shakes can actually work against you as they are fast-burning (require very little digestion) and I've seen people gain fat from adding too many shakes. A piece of whole chicken is far better, even if it's lightly breaded and pan-fried in olive-oil (giving you a balance of protein, fats and carbs). The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to forget about calories and watch your macro-nutrients instead (grams of Protein, Fat, and Carbs) but that starts getting a bit more complex.

All-in-all, keep your intake moderate but balanced. And, bust that ass in the gym because that's where most of your progress is going to come from.

[Danny Gunz]

30 pounds in 12 weeks could be hard depending how much you weigh now.

With all that protein you are having you better be lifting also